We are pleased to inform you that the construction of the new Beach Club is scheduled to start after Easter and is planned for completion by Thanksgiving thereby causing the minimal possible disruption to the smallest number of members using the Island's facilities.

There has been a lot of discussion about the various elements of the Master Plan. However, the one thing that has commanded near universal support across the membership is the re-construction of our Beach Club. We are delighted that this important element of the plan is upon us and will be completed by next season.

Much planning and consultation with the membership has gone into the final design. Original plans were scaled back in order to save substantial costs and to maintain a more intimate but open feel for the facility.

A Beach Club Designed By The Membership

The membership was consulted a full year ago and, at that time, many took the time and interest to come forth with comments and suggestions. Many of these suggestions were, of course, conflicting. For instance, some wanted permanent structures coming right up to the beachfront to provide more covered beachfront dining. Others wanted these permanent structures to be set back so as to maintain the open, beachfront feeling of the whole area and not to have the structures or their shadows impinge on the beach itself. Others wanted the structures to be set in a way that achieved near 360 degree views for all tables; views comprising the beach, the ocean, the marina and the bay.

All opinions were taken into account and the best blend of ideas was found.

We Will Have A Casual But Elegant Facility

The resulting Beach Club design integrates three types of "coverage": substantial, permanent pavilions; lighter but still weather resistant canvas shade-sails and more flexible, open tables with individual umbrellas. This allows efficient management of the large swings in Beach Club utilization throughout the year. It was also a direct response to the widespread requests, during the open consultation process, for more open seating rather than covered seating.

The pavilions are designed to allow maximum views by all tables while maintaining the architectural lines created by the historical pump house. These pavilions will have roll down, weather protection like we have today. In the summer months with less seating required, we expect these pavilions to handle most patrons.

The intrusive golf cart path has been eliminated by building a new bridge over the manatee basin providing yacht owners with safe and easy access to their docks.

Full site coverage was neither desirable nor esthetically pleasing and would have had a negative impact in the overall open feel of the complex. Both in summer and in winter, the proposed design will allow for efficient flow of patrons and servers.

The Final Design

We believe that the DDB has done a great job in achieving a final design that melds many different expressed views while maintaining operational and cost efficiency and meeting the many hidden construction limitations of which most of us are blissfully ignorant.

Responding to your requests, our new Beach Club is designed to be a beach club, not a beachside restaurant. A casual, beachfront place that feels like it has grown organically over the years using a mixture of structures and seating options.

Gaining Broad Consensus Is Possible

We are confident that you will be pleased with the final outcome and with the speed with which it will be implemented during the quieter summer months. There will, no doubt, be elements that each of us individually feels we may have done differently. But this is not just about our different individual preferences - it's about getting a design that best meets the different perspectives of the whole community and that works at a practical level.

If anything, the beach club has been the first demonstration that, through a series of reasonable compromises, it is possible for us on this island to come up with plans and policies that have a broad consensus of support across our community.

We are sure that the new Beach Club complex will more than fulfill its function as the hub of daytime social activity on the Island.

Let us all hope for good weather this summer so that all may be completed on schedule.

Sincerely,

Bob Hymen
President
Fisher Island Club Board of Directors